The brothel had made little money at all, beyond that Nix had managed to convince one of the regulars to take a trip to the Skullport Room, so named because it was in the basement and themed appropriately with the most toys. Nix could have been a high-end courtesan, as a changeling, but the Traveler's Club seemed to see little business lately.
Richard, the new manager after Stoutbrew quit and new accountant after Tim's demise in the Underdark, informed the brothel owners that the Jewelbox had come by.
"Damnit Tim," Aestith muttered. The drow inspected his perfectly painted red nails. "What do they want?"
Richard made a face. "They were after Tim. I didn't know what to tell them."
Small wonder as to why, after the idiot had attacked the owner of their establishment for no conceivable reason and broken a window in his hasty escape. Naturally, the Jewelbox were not only a brothel-they were a thieves' guild specializing in hired thugs and blackmail. Eilora said, "Tell them Tim is dead." The wood elf glanced at Aestith, who had been the one to stab him and then drop him out a window after his last shenanigans that almost got all of them killed.
"I shall, should I see them again, but I do not know that they will listen. Or care."
Kairon shook his horned head. "That bodes well."
Eilora said, "I'm taking Cakecake into the forest for a few days." She scratched her pet badger behind an ear. Aestith, frankly, would be surprised if she came back at all.
Aestith sighed and proposed to the others his plans to make amends with the Jewelbox. He and Nix spent the day looking around jewelry stores, leaving the tiefling to look after the brothel in case of thugs-it had been attacked in the past.
Nix did most of the talking, as a merchant himself-and shopkeepers were more likely to talk to someone who looked like a human anyway. Nix haggled over a jeweled box while Aestith poked around the shop. Jewelry stores were littered with mirrors, both so the shopkeeps could keep an easy eye on the customers, and so the customers could look at the jewels on themselves. Aestith looked at a pearl hair net. It would never even show up in his long white curls, but if they were black, it might look quite stunning. Or the black would just showcase that his skin was a hematite grey instead-it was a delicate balance-makeup was sometimes difficult too.
He idly ran a slender finger down the fine gold chain on his neck to the amber pendant dangling between his breasts. Aestith Rix may have been called male at birth, but Lolth had had other designs for him. She preferred her clerics female, and his body had certainly warped and twisted from what he had been expecting. He wanted to believe that this was a divine gift, but the more he read and learned about his condition, he thought it was entirely circumstantial-and he had to say, he liked that idea too.
Humans could have his condition, in a wide spectrum ranging from mild to his more severe case, wherein he had breasts, hips, a woman's waistline, the slender frailty of a male Drow, and both sets of genitalia. It was more common in elves.
It made sense to him, though. Why should a goddess expand effort to change him herself when she could just select someone as her Chosen when they were already like this? Some would call him deformed, imperfect, an abomination-they were wrong. He was beautiful, from the small mole in the corner of his left eye to his grey eyes, to his meager five feet of height. He had everything he needed-potential.
They brought the box back to the Traveler's Club. Nix dropped one of Tim's beholder toys into it and they made a gift basket of the box and Tim's favorite helmet, as evidence of his death, for there was no body.
They did not wait long for the Jewelbox to return. A gnome flanked by a minotaur and a Goliath with a jewel-shaped tattoo on their shoulders strode into the brothel that evening and inserted themselves into the nicest alcove in the vacant seating area. Each held vaguely smug expressions.
Aestith, not one to be intimidated, strode up to them, Nix in a human guise trailing behind. Aestith set down the gift basket. "I am interested in making amends," he explained and pushed the offered gift toward them.
The gnome stared at it, but did not touch it.
Aestith continued, "The half-elf you are looking for, Tim, died when we journeyed to the Underdark."
They looked at the drow before them, the jeweled box. "How did he die?"
A smile graced Aestith's purple-tinted lips. "Natural causes."
The gnome gestured to the Goliath. The huge man flipped open the lid. The toy stared out at them. The Goliath shut the box.
The gnome nodded. "Well. I see that you are interested in making amends for your transgression."
Aestith shook his head. "Not mine, for I would happily hand Tim over to you. Alas, he is dead, and I cannot gift him to you. For your trouble, we have procured an item you may recognize as belonging to Tim." Aestith gestured and Nix groaned and placed Tim's enchanted helm on the table.
Nix muttered under his breath, "We could have made a lot of money from this."
Aestith glared at him and he crossed his arms. Aestith turned back to the three. "I trust this should settle this matter."
The gnome looked at the gifts and frowned as he considered. "He is your business associate, and so his actions are upon your business. We will consider your offer."
The Goliath rose and stood to the side. The gnome walked past and the minotaur followed. They did not take the gifts with them. Nix snatched back the helm. Aestith sighed and took the box, but gave Nix back the plush toy.
"That should settle it, right?" Nix said.
Aestith glowered. "You are almost as naive as Tim."
The Jewelbox envoy sent a letter asking them to meet them at a time and place of their choosing. Aestith and Kairon counter-offered with a different location and time. Nix made a few other suggestions.
"Why are we pretending I am the sole proprietor?" Aestith demanded on the way to Crazy Jayne's Wagon Emporium.
"You're the one who's been talking to them anyway, and you're probably the most intimidating," Kairon said pleasantly. Aestith frowned at the fully-armored paladin.
Nix nodded in agreement. "What's more intimidating than a drow?"
Aestith threw up his hands. "Illithid."
Dee snorted. The halfling warlock said, "No, that's 'terrifying', not 'intimidating'."
Crazy Jayne was outside the Emporium, standing on a balcony with a wooden cone to his lips that produced a Thaumaturgy-like voice boom. "Come on down to Crazy Jayne's Wagon Emporium! I will run across hot coals to get your sale! We have only the best highly discounted wagons here at Crazy Jayne's!"
The brick building was relatively small, mostly used for the actual transactions and any available space was piled with wagon parts and tools. A teenager bearing the tired look of one in long suffering sat behind the desk. "Hello?"
Nix smiled. "Hello, my good sir. We were in the business of procuring a wagon."
Jayne craned his head over the side of the loft. "Don't listen to the boy! He doesn't know nothin'!"
The boy shrugged weakly. "Well, there's some wagons. Let me show you." He got out from behind the desk and shoved the back door open to the wagons in the lot. He pointed. "Here are the wagons."
Each wagon was in various states of insanity, cobbled together from different wagons and once-broken parts.
"Do we really need a getaway wagon?" Dee muttered.
Aestith sighed, listening to Crazy Jayne clamor down the stairs, still yelling about "not listening to the boy". He said, "The idea was that we have the wagon with our decoys in it if this meeting goes to shit so they chase the wagon, and we run the other direction."
Crazy Jayne burst from the door. "Now, I said, don't listen to him! He don't know nothin'! Welcome to Crazy Jayne's Wagon Emporium, the best discount wagons on this side of Waterdeep. You will not find a better deal on wagons in this city. I will run across hot coals to get your business."
"Will you really?" Nix said.
Crazy Jayne strode past them and proudly gestured to a bed of hot coals in the barren lot he kept the wagons in. "Sir, I make no boasts I can't live up to."
Dee shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sure we can find another wagoneer…"
Before Crazy Jayne could launch into a sales pitch, Kairon said, "Mr. Jayne, sir. We were interested in renting a wagon."
"We don't normally do rentals-"
"We'll pay for it."
"-But we are willing to make an exception! What'll it be? I've got the Turbo Mass Redistributer." He slapped a badly painted wagon. It was monstrous. He jerked a thumb at another. "But for a gentleman of your stature—" Kairon raised an eyebrow. Without heels, he was only slightly taller than Aestith. Crazy Jayne continued without noticing. "-I might also recommend our finest wagon, the Toff Stuff. Or—"
"We need something speedy," Nix said.
His eyes lit up. "Oh, well, why didn't you say so? This way, right here. She's the fastest wagon on the lot, and she'll do you right proper. Here we are." With all due fanfare, he presented a slender open wagon, painted red. "Completely sound. Great deal. I call her the Red Rider." The name was emblazoned on the side of the wagon.
Aestith grinned. "It's perfect."
"I am glad you think so, ma'am. You have a fine eye for detail."
"I'm not sure we should buy anything from him," Dee whispered.
They haggled on a price for a rental, then hitched Franklin to the wagon. Kairon's unicorn mount looked just as ridiculous pulling the wagon as anyone could wish for and Aestith suppressed giggles at the creature's obvious shame.
The wagon was indeed quick and lightweight, but this caused it to jostle the riders. Dee glared at the others as if they had done this insidiously.
The meeting took place in a well-patrolled area at a frequented bar. Aestith sat in a booth with Kairon and Dee at either side. Nix, in a dwarf guise, was nearby.
It became clear, at a quarter past the scheduled time, that they had been stood up. A waitress dropped off a note to their table and moved away. Kairon opened it, ground his teeth, and dropped it on the table. Nix plopped into an open seat.
"What's going on?" he said.
Aestith picked up the note. Kairon said, "They won't come here, and are very insistent we go to their hotel."
"We need to get this resolved," Aestith sighed.
Dee frowned. "It doesn't have to be today. We could wait until all of us are ready in case shit goes down."
"We have the wagon," Aestith said.
Nix added, "And we have a vigilante who would help us out."
"What?"
Nix tilted his head toward a table he had been drinking at. A muscular sailor sat over an untouched drink. "I convinced him to meet us here to help deal with thugs."
"In the future, please keep us informed of these kinds of things." Aestith frowned. "I suppose this is as good as it's going to get, then."
"Let's go. I want this done," Kairon said. He rose, and the decision seemed to have been made for them. Nix collected his new friend.
The hotel was the sort of place that the ragtag band would always look out of place in. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, reflecting the light of candles in brackets on the wallpapered walls. Rich carpets covered the floor that the group trod dirt over. A well-dressed half-elf sitting behind a polished wooden desk rose, back straight at the sight of them. He met them quickly at the door before the group had a chance to interact with any of the well-to-do guests.
"May I be of assistance?" he said.
Kairon nodded. "Yes. We were to meet someone here in the dining hall."
The man looked them over dubiously. Nix said, "The Jewelbox."
"Ah, yes. Right this way. Thank you, sir." The man showed them into the dining hall with the air of one who obviously disapproved of their existing in the establishment. The sailor followed behind and sat a fair distance back. The waiters tried to give him a menu, but he declined. The others approached the Jewelbox employees.
The gnome was seated at a table piled with food and was eating, though such a word did not begin to describe what he was doing to the food. The table was full to overflowing with plates and glasses and the little gnome consumed it. His fork pierced the flaky skin of a rabbit here, a spoon poured buttered peas into his mouth, teeth tore into peppered chicken, a tongue lapped gravy from his lip.
The gnome swallowed a mouthful of mostly chewed food. He pointed at them with his fork. "You are late." He shoved another forkful into his mouth.
Kairon made a face. "We wanted to meet elsewhere."
"Dinner time. Can't be helped." Wine sloshed as he set the cup back down. "Now. To business." Another forkful. Chew. Swallow. "Your business, even before we deterred your clientele, was struggling. Thank you for assistance in that matter, halfling."
Dee shrunk in her seat when the others glared at her. "Was I not supposed to show them the ledgers?"
"No, you were not," Aestith snapped.
The gnome waved a hand. "Now, don't be mad at your business associate. She's a helpful girl." A giant bite of bread disappeared down his gullet. "And saved me the trouble of finding other ways to get a look at it." He chewed thoughtfully on fried potatoes. "But that still leaves the trouble of your transgressions. You've seen what we can do to your business. We'll bleed you dry." He stabbed his fork into the ham to punctuate his point. "But we have an offer." He took a bite of the pork and chewed, then swallowed. He took a drink of wine. "First, is you can continue as things are, we'll bleed you dry and run out your clientele." He let them think on that while he slathered dripping butter onto a dinner roll. "Second, you sell the business to us." He bit and chewed. "Third." He used the remains of the roll to mop up gravy. "You work for us. We will allow you to keep the name, if you wish, but we will inspect it to make sure that it is up to Jewelbox standards. We will also inspect your wares for quality. Prices will increase. Pay will increase. And we can guarantee an increase in clientele. We will take sixty percent of your profits and you will answer to the Jewelbox." Aestith felt his eyes turning red as Kairon's skin in anger. The gnome did not seem to even notice. "You may take some time to deliberate your options." He attacked the rabbit with renewed vigor.
They moved to a vacant table across the room. Aestith and Kairon refused to work for the Jewelbox. Dee pleaded with them to work for them. "I've always wanted to work for their guild," she said.
"Then you work for them," Aestith spat. Kairon grunted his agreement. "Fact of the matter, Kairon and I have invested more into the brothel than anyone else. If anyone wants to buy out our shares in the brothel as-is, you may do with it as you like. Kairon?"
He nodded. "I agree with the drow."
Nix shrugged. "I'm only the negotiator."
Aestith and Kairon looked at each other. Eilora and Deekin only really lived in the brothel, not really holding much sway with doing real work there, so it only truly came down to Aestith and Kairon.
And the others did not have the funds to buy out their shares.
"We could just close business and live there," Aestith offered.
He shook his head. "Nah. That was my retirement plan. I'd rather sell and setup somewhere else."
There was some discussion, Nix told them what they would be looking at as far as the real estate value of the place. He had apparently been a merchant before.
They returned to the table and let Nix negotiate the sale of the property. The gnome was surprised, but not overly so, at their ready desire to sell. Terms were made and paperwork signed. The gnome gave them a writ they could take the bank in the morning.
They left. Nix asked Kairon to borrow the wagon with Franklin. He told Franklin to pull the wagon wherever Nix wished and Nix went back to his friend.
The others returned to the Traveler's Club, which was disappointingly without a single sale all night. Aestith ordered a cocktail and drank it in his room while he read a novel.
Later in the evening, Nix came back riding Franklin, without the wagon. He pounded on Aestith's door. Aestith looked up from his book and rolled out of bed. The Dancing Light winked out and Aestith opened the door. Nix's eyes were wide.
"Aestith, I need your help," he said.
Aestith groaned. "What now?"
He looked around, then spoke low in Undercommon, "The vigilante. I got a room in a storage unit and I led him down there. I tried to shackle him—"
"What?"
Nix shrugged weakly. "Look, I need slaves to start a slaving ring."
"No, you need clientele, or else you just have a bunch of mouths to feed." Aestith crossed his arms. "What did you do?"
Nix was bruised badly. He was a changeling, so could alter his form to not show it, but in infrared, Aestith could see the inflamed areas. The changeling said, "It didn't go well. He almost killed me. Then I killed him. I need you to help me hide the body."
Aestith swore. "Shit. Nix, what the fuck?"
He shrugged helplessly. "I always had servants doing this before."
"You are an idiot. Five minutes. Ask Kairon to borrow Franklin again." Aestith slammed the door and rushed to throw on his clothes. He was presentable in roughly five minutes and rushing down the stairs. On the way there, Nix gave Aestith a few more key details-namely the very loud spells he had used to kill the vigilante.
"You're like if Tim tried to be me," Aestith snapped.
Nix groaned. "I didn't know. Waterdeep is different than what I'm used to."
"Thay? Yeah, no shit!"
Nix guided Franklin toward the storage units, then slowed to a terrified halt. The guard had quarantined it and were swarming about it like ants. He swore. Aestith cast a spell to appear like a human. Nix changed his shape just as quickly and wheeled Franklin down a side street, then back the way they came.
"What do I do?" Nix whined.
Aestith ground his teeth. "Did you use a pseudonym?"
"Yeah. A dwarf."
"Well, now you don't have that one."
He sighed miserably.
Aestith looked back toward the crime scene, but the buildings were in the way. "You're lucky the guard is incompetent." In Aestith's mind, webs wove. He said, "Nix. Let me give you some advice."
He paused. "Yeah?"
"If you're selling a non-living product, you can start with the product. But what you want to sell is highly illegal, intelligent, and alive. So you need a sound-proof storage to start, and you need a network of contacts to sell them to."
"But I can't sell if I don't have product!"
Aestith thought about hitting him. "Tell them you can acquire the product. It's that easy. Also, you'll want to learn which officials and guards you can bribe, their schedules, that sort of thing." He paused to let the information sink into Nix's get-rich-quick mentality. "Also, I will be happy to purchase any drow or half-drow you might acquire."
"Excellent," he said.
He considered. "My family have ways of keeping slaves complacent. One of these ways is by controlling an addictive substance you give them so they cannot leave. I may be able to acquire some of what we use."
Nix nodded, eyes wide with wonder. He was quiet for much of the ride back, as he had a great deal to mull over.